Phillip Walsleben (BKCP-Powerplus) was the great animator of the final World Cup race of this season. The German champion was vigilant from the start and dominated the cyclocross world cup in Nommay for long stretches. In the end, however, he had to admit defeat. Behind the winner of the day, Tom Meeusen (Telenet-Fidea) and Francis Mourey (FDJ.fr), the man from Kleinmachnow took third place.
The race started quickly, which was not least due to the good starts by Sascha Weber (Veranclassic-Doltcini) and Marcel Meisen (Kwadro-Stannah). Meeusen also got off to a good start behind the German duo. However, the three did not agree and so other drivers, including Walsleben and Mourey, managed to catch up with them. At the end of the first lap Meeusen attacked, who was countered a little later by Kleinmachnower. While Walsleben was able to gain a small lead of almost seven seconds, Mourey caught up with Meeusen. Together they both started chasing Walsleben, which they managed to do three laps before the end. After that, the trio played cat and mouse together, but managed to continuously extend the lead over the overall World Cup winner Lars van der Haar (Rabobank), who finished fourth, and Kevin Pauwels (Subweb-Napoleon-Games).
In the end, the sprint decided. Here Walsleben made a small driving error while overtaking a few hundred meters from the finish line. Meeusen and Mourey used this. Although the German champion managed to catch up with both of them again, he had no chance in the sprint to the finish. This was secured by the Belgian Meeusen in the photo finish. It was his first World Cup success.
Almost two minutes later, Niels Albert (BKCP-Powerplus) crossed the finish line together with Meisen in twelfth place. He lost his second place in the overall World Cup to his teammate Walsleben. The 22-year-old Van der Haar could no longer take first place in this ranking due to his fourth place.
Marianne Vos (Rabobank) dominated the women's race from the first lap. Although she got off to a slow start, by the beginning of the second lap she was still catching up with the competitors in front of her. While overall World Cup winner Katie Compton (Trek) had to end the race prematurely with asthma problems, the Dutch world champion circled lonely at the front. In the end she won easily ahead of the reigning European Champion Helen Wyman (Kona) and the Italian Champion Eva Lechner (Colnago-Südtirol). Hanka Kupfernagel (Maxx-Solar) came in strong eighth.
If you missed the races, you can watch them again here.
//Result men
1. Tom Meeusen (Telenet Fidea) 1:00:45
2. Francis Mourey (FDJ.fr) 0:00:00
3. Philipp Walsleben (BKCP-Powerplus) 0:00:05
4. Lars van der Haar (Rabobank) 0:01:01
5. Radomir simunek (Kwadro-Stannah) 0:01:18
//Total men
1. Lars van der Haar (Rabobank) 467 points
2. Philipp Walsleben (BKCP-Powerplus) 409 points
3. Niels Albert (BKCP-Powerplus) 392 points
4. Kevin Pauwels (Sunweb-Napoleon Games) 363 points
5. Francis Mourey (FDJ.fr) 340 points
//Result ladies
1. Marianne Vos (Rabo-Liv) 0:44:16
2. Hellen Wyman (Kona) 0:01:32
3. Eva Lechner (Colnago-South Tyrol) 0:01:46
4. Sanne Cant (Enertherm-BKCP) 0:02:08
5. Nikki Harris (Young Telenet-Fidea) 0:02:19
//Total ladies
1. Katie Compton (Trek) 350 points
2. Nikki Harris (Young Telenet-Fidea) 284 points
3. Marianne Vos (Rabo-Liv) 270 points
4. Sanne Cant (Enertherm-BKCP) 261 points
5. Helen Wyman (Kona) 214 points